Inter CEO Luigi De Siervo labelled Cristian Chivu's debut season in charge of the Nerazzurri as "extraordinary" after winning the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia. 

Chivu claimed Inter's first Serie A title since 2023-24 following a 1-0 win over Parma earlier this month, before beating Lazio in the Coppa Italia nine days ago. 

In doing so, Chivu became the first manager since Jose Mourinho in 2009-10 to win the domestic double for Inter, though the latter did win the Champions League in that season.

And the Inter boss was rewarded for his accolades by being announced as the Serie A Coach of the Season ahead of their final league match against Bologna on Saturday. 

He was not the only person from Inter to pick up an award, with Lautaro Martinez named the best striker and Federico Dimarco named the division's best player in 2025-26. 

"Cristian Chivu's season at the helm of Inter has been simply extraordinary," De Siervo said. 

"In his first year at the helm of a professional team since the start of the season, Chivu immediately demonstrated the winning DNA he possessed as a player.

"He guided his players to play solid yet proactive football, which led the Nerazzurri to finish the season averaging more than two goals per game and a margin of around 30 goals over the second-placed team.

"It took Chivu just 48 Serie A games as a coach to become Italian champion – second only to [Jose] Mourinho in the three-point era – and by adding the Coppa Italia to the Scudetto, he became the only manager to achieve this historic double in his first season at Inter.

"These numbers and records confirm Cristian Chivu's rightful place among the great coaches of our Serie A."

Martinez claimed his accolade after netting 17 goals in 29 Serie A appearances, more than any other player, while he also chipped in with six assists for his team-mates. 

Dimarco, meanwhile, ended the league campaign with a division-high 17 assists. In fact, across Europe's top five leagues in all competitions, only Luis Diaz, Julian Ryerson (both 18), Bruno Fernandes (21) and Michael Olise (28) managed more than the Italian. 

And the pair will be hoping to end their campaign with a flourish against a Bologna side that have seen their European hopes ended over the past couple of weeks, as they sit eighth in Serie A, three points behind Atalanta.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Bologna – Riccardo Orsolini

Orsolini has already equalled Gino Cappello (both 75 goals) as the 10th-highest goalscorer in Bologna's Serie A history.

He has also reached double figures in goals for the fourth consecutive Serie A season. Prior to him, only six players had achieved this feat for Bologna in Serie A, but only Marco Di Vaio had done so in the three-points-for-a-win era (since 1994-95).

Inter – Lautaro Martinez

Martinez has scored five goals against Bologna in Serie A, but all of them have come when playing on home soil.

The Stadio Renato Dall'Ara is the stadium where he has played the most minutes without scoring in his top-flight career in Italy (429). The other two stadiums where he has not scored in the competition are the Paolo Mazza in Ferrara (103 minutes) and the Ezio Scida in Crotone (65 minutes).

MATCH PREDICTION: INTER WIN

Matches between Bologna and Inter have been evenly contested in Serie A of late, with both sides winning three and drawing two of their last eight meetings. Following their 3-1 victory in the reverse fixture, the Nerazzurri are looking to complete a league double over them for the first time since 2020-21. 

And, Inter have won eight of their last nine final-day matches in the top-flight, scoring 25 goals (2.8 per game). Their only failure in this period was a 2-2 draw against Hellas Verona two seasons ago. 

Chivu's side have already earned 86 points this season, and could reach 89 with a win here. During the three-points-per-win era, only in 2023-24 (94), 2020-21 (91) and 2006-07 (97) have they managed more in a single Serie A campaign. 

Bologna, meanwhile, have gained 13 fewer points in home games than in away games in Serie A this season (21 points at the Dall'Ara compared to 34 away from home). In the 2025-26 top five European leagues, only Tottenham (-14) have registered a wider difference of this type.

They have also lost nine home league games this season (W6 D3), with only Pisa (13) and Hellas Verona (12) recording more home defeats. The Rossoblu could lose 10 home matches in a single Serie A campaign for only the second time in their history, after 2008-09.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Bologna – 32.9%

Draw – 25.4%

Inter – 41.7%